The 4-star small forward from Huntington, West Virginia, announced his college choice during a commitment ceremony on Tuesday, selecting Kentucky over Duke, Pitt, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia.
Hawthorne had initially committed to West Virginia, signing a National Letter of Intent with the Mountaineers. However, following head coach Darian DeVries’ departure to Indiana after just one season, Hawthorne requested and received a release from his NLI.
While he left the possibility open to rejoin West Virginia after Ross Hodge was named the new head coach, his final list also included Duke, Kentucky, Pitt, and Virginia Tech.
In the end, Hawthorne chose to join Mark Pope’s program at Kentucky. He becomes the fourth member of the Wildcats’ 2025 recruiting class, which also features Jasper Johnson from Overtime Elite, local standout Malachi Moreno, and Croatian forward Andrija Jelavic. Kentucky is also bringing in six transfers, including Alabama’s Mouhamed Dioubate.